Mask
by SilentxAdmirer
Summary: AU: SasuHina  No one is ever what they seem.  People hide behind masks to cover real emotion.  This is the case for two students at Kanoha High Art Academy.  Sorry, I'm not great with summaries. T rating for safety.
1. Chapter 1

"Mask"

I don't own Naruto

A Hinata and Sasuke Romance

Chapter 1

The Hyuuga household was more quiet than usual. Two of the teenage member of the clan were moping around in their rooms. They had done so for many days because the date for the first day of school drew closer. It wouldn't have been so bad if Hiashi wasn't shipping them all of his kids off to different boarding schools. Each of these schools specialized in a different field of learning.

Hanabi was being sent to a school specializing in athletics.

Neji was being sent to a school specializing in fine arts.

Hinata was being sent to a school specializing in academics.

The only Hyuuga's that were happy with this arrangement were Hanabi and Hiashi. Neji and Hinata were dreading everything about this decision. They both felt that they should have been able to choose what kind of school they were to attend. They could not thing of any way to against the head of the house though. It seemed as if his word was practically law. They just couldn't think of a reasonable way to go rebel against the law without getting caught.

Things didn't seem like they were going to look up for the two...

Hanabi was running through the house looking for her sister and cousin. Normally, Neji could be found in the Study catching up on his reading. Yes, that boy was a big book work... believe it or not. Hinata was normally found in the Art Room sketching or painting on canvas. She enjoyed painting and would do anything to pursue her dreams of becoming an Artist. Seeing that they were not where to be found, Hanabi checked the last place they would be.

First, she checked Hinata's room. When she opened up the door she saw a petite figure curled up in a ball in a dark corner of the room. She automatically knew who the sad-looking person was. Hanabi let herself in the room the rest of the way and looked down at her older sister with worried expression on her fac. "Hinata-neechan..." she said quietly whilst kneeling down beside her sister. There was a long silence before either said either did anything. Eventually, Hinata looked up at her younger sister with tears still forming in the corners of her lilac eyes.

"What's wrong?" Hanabi asked in a gentle voice. Hinata didn't reply until many drawn out moments later. "I-I just d-don't want to go-o to the s-school f-father is s-sending me t-to," she said in a small shaky voice. The Hyuuga heiress still had a while before she would ger rid of her stammer. It had seemed to be apart of her even since she was a child. Hinata really had no clue where she got it from, but she imagined it was caused by her shyness. The stutter seemed to be bothersome to a lot of people (especially her father).

Somehow, Neji and Hanabi had grown to accept the face that it was apart of their dear Hinata. If they were to accept her, they also had to accept her faults. It really was quite astounding because when they were younger they could no seem to put up with each other. Now, Hinata was seventeen years old, and her relatives seemed to have matured. That is... everyone except her father. He still treated her as if she was weak and inferior to everyone.

Something clicked in Hanabi's mind as soon as her older sister confided in her. 'Why didn't I think of it sooner?' she asked herself as she quickly raced out of the room, leaving hinata bewildered. The youngest Hyuuga sped down the hall to Neji's room and busted the door open, revealing her eighteen year old cousin pouting on his bed. "What do you want?" he grumbled annoyed as he sent of a glare in her direction.

This caused Hanabi to glower back at him. "Let me guess what's wrong with you..." she said with a dramatic pause. "You don't want to go to the Art School!" She had pretty much stated it like it was a clearly obvious face. "No. I don't," Neji said. "But what's it matter. It's not like we can do anything about it." Hanabi just smirked at his comment. "I have a plan!" she said.

x later that day x

Hanabi and Neji walked into the Hyuuga heiress's room in a seemingly joyous mood. She had moved her position from the floor to the bed. Her two relatives sat on opposite sides of her, making the poor girl grow nervous. Her lilac eyes looked at them wearing and she ran a hand through her long midnight blue hair. "Neji-niisan... Hanabi-chan..." she said. They both just looked at her and smiled until Neji broke the tension by speaking up...

Thanks for reading! It's not too interesting yet. I have already started on the second chapter. Please comment with advice, etc..


	2. Chapter 2

I am so sorry it took forever to me forever to update this. A lot of things have happened since then. My dad got in an accident and school has been very hectic. Sorry once again. I will be sure to update much quicker now.

CHAPTER 2

"I heard you were crying earlier," he said nonchalantly. "I believe Hanabi came up with a plan to rid you of the sarrow." Hinata rubbed her eye a bit and looked over at her little sister to see if her cousin spoke the truth. "R-really?" she whispered quietly. Hanabi reassured the heiress with a small smile as she told Hinata the whole plan.

"It's simple really," she said with a slight smirk. "The day we are to leave for our schools you will not be going to the school father wishes you to go to. Hinata, you will got to the Art school disguised as a boy. Neji will be attending the Academic school." Hinata looked a bit confused. "H-how will that w-work?" she asked. Hanabi sighed a bit when she forgot some of the details. "It's true that father has already contacted both of the schools, but he didn't go into great detail about who was going to attend. Since the Art School is exclusively for boys, that is the gender of the person they are expecting. The Academic school only knows that a Hyuuga is going to attend. Father never mentioned what gender they would be."

Hinata just sat there nodding while Neji was staring at his cousin extremely impressed. He couldn't believe he didn't think of anything like that. The youngest Hyuuga did prove to be a great asset to the clan. A small smile crossed Hinata's face a few minutes later as she finally got all the information processed. "S-so I get to go study Art?" she asked in slight disbelief. Neji and Hanabi both nodded, glad to see that she was out of her depressing state.

A while later they all retired to their rooms to get a good night's sleep.

x The next day x

Everyone got up in a much better mood than the day before. They had begun packing their things to get ready for the boarding school. Neji and Hinabi didn't have much trouble getting their things together. Hinata's case was much more complicated. She couldn't just pack up all her girl clothes. She would either have to go shopping for new clothes or barrow some from Neji.

With only a short amount of time left before they would have to leave she borrowed some of the clothes Neji had grown tired of. She shoved them in her suitcase and preceded to set it by the front door where the other two were.

Their father woke up to see that the children of the clan were already up and around. He was a bit surprised to see them all in a cheerful mood. It contradicted the way they had acted the day before. He was a curious as to what had changed their mind about the ordeal. He imagined Hanabi had talked some sense into Hinata and Neji.

He looked closer at his eldest child and noticed something had changed about her. The night before she had cut all her long hair to the style she had when she was younger. Hiashi was shocked because she had wanted to grow it out for a long a long time. Hinata had done just that and ruined years of maintaining the long hair. Of course, he didn't know the true reasons behind it all.

"So you are all ready to go?" he asked them. They all nodded and waited til the time they would have to depart.

x Two Hours Later x

They young Hyuuga were all well on their way to the different boarding schools. To their good fortune, Hiashi was called upon to by the Hokage so he couldn't go with them.

They were all dropped off at the bus station that would eventually take them to the schools.

As soon as the car drove away, Hinata ran to the girl's bathroom and changed into a pair of Neji's clothes which consisted of a pair of jeans, black sweatshirt and black converse. Thanks to the fact that she had her bosom tightly wrapped, it appeared to be flat.

Neji's bus was first to come.

Hinabi's was second to come.

Finally, Hinata's slowly drove up and came to a complete stop near the region where she was standing.

Hinata grabbed her suitcase and hoisted it up along with her as she entered the bus. She looked around for a place to sit but the bus appeared to be packed. Lo and behold! There was an empty seat in the back next to a raven-haired boy that appeared to be around seventeen ; the same age as her.

Who could this person be?

Tune in next time to fine out!!


	3. Chapter 3

As I promised -- the third chapter is out a lot earlier.

I spend a whole two class periods on it -- so about 3 hours. Hope it's all right!

**Mask**

**Chapter 3**

**Hinata shifted a bit nervously in her seat when she could feel the eyes of the raven-haired boy just staring at her. After a few minutes she could feel a weight lift off her shoulders when he directed his attention to the world outside the bus. Sighing in relief, she took a few moments to regain her composure. That wall came crumbling down when he turned his gaze back to her and asked, "Who are you?" Now , for him this was very unusual, but he felt the need to ask.**

**Hinata jumped by the sudden disrupt of silence and cautiously looked over at him. **

"**M-my n-n-name is H-h-hinata," she said beginning to grow more uneasy. The boy cringe when he heard her stutter. This would be on thing he doubted he could get used to. It showed a total lack of confidence and would prove to be a major weakness. He would never be weak -- he had promised himself that a long time ago.**

**To be considerate, Hinata figured she should ask him the say thing. "W-what is y-y-your name?" she asked him and quickly averted her lilac eyes when they met his charcoal black ones. He sighed in annoyance when the boy sitting next to him acted intimidated by his presence. "Sasuke Uchiha," he said shortly. "O-oh," she said, recognizing his clan name. "I-I'm H-Hinata H-h-hyuuga." **

**Sasuke's eyes widened a bit in surprise when he turned his attention back to her. 'A Hyuuga?' he asked himself as he took in her appearance for the first time. 'Those pale eyes are unmistakable… He really is a Hyuuga." He couldn't help but be a bit taken aback. He had expected someone like the leader of the clan. He had heard stories about Hiashi. Tales about acts of bravery and might. Sasuke expected the same from his children.**

**A silence was soon brought back upon the two. Sasuke remained staring out the window and Hinata was twiddling her thumbs out of boredom. After what seemed like hours the bus came to a complete stop outside a large building. Teenagers evacuated the bus with their bags as they headed towards the school. Once they entered the front doors, the students were directed to a board so they could see which dorm they were staying in. Hinata drug her suitcase over as she examined the list.**

**Room 22 - Naruto and Kiba**

**Room 23 - Gaara and Lee**

**Room 24 - Hinata and Sasuke**

**She stared at the list bewildered. Out of all the people she was to room with, she got stuck with someone she thought was terrifying. There was just something about the raven-haired boy she found intimidating. Sasuke, on the other hand, was quite content with this arrangement. Sure, he would have rather roomed with Gaara, but at least the Hyuuga wasn't as annoying as Naruto or Lee.**

**Hinata decided to head towards the room she could set up her stuff and try to stay out of Sasuke's way as much as possible. Much to her dismay, Sasuke was right behind her -- hot on her trail. She figured there was no point in trying to avoid him, so she kept the room her destination. Once she finally found Room Number 24, she opened the door and they bother went inside. **

**The two weren't too impressed by the dorm rooms. There were two beds -- one on each side of the room -- and desks to accompany them. A small fan hung on the ceiling, and an odd statue of a gargoyle stood against the wall near the door. One dresser with a total of eight shelves rested against an empty wall. There was a small door that led them to a less impressive bathroom. The only fixtures that stood in their were a single shower, sink, toilet, and small mirror.**

"**Ugh, this place is a dump," Sasuke said in disgust, How did the administrators of the school expect them to live and function in such an environment? This was one of the best art schools in Japan, but it didn't appear like they spent any of the budget refurnishing the rooms. He imagined they pocketed the rest of the change. He did know for a fact that the principal, Tsunade, had a tendency to get drunk while at work. She probably spent all the extra money on Sake.**

**Hinata didn't stand around brooding over the room. She began to put her stuff away, deciding to use only four out of the eight drawers so Sasuke would have some room. He noticed this, but didn't bother to thank the Hyuuga. Instead, he dropped his bag on the floor and lay down on one of the two beds. He decided to make one thing clear to his new roommate. "Hyuuga," he said nonchalantly. "N-nani?" she asked a bit worried. "If we are going to get along you need to get rid of that stutter," he added.**

**True, it did annoy him to no end. Once the Hyuuga ceased stuttering maybe he would feel the need to converse with her once in a while. Until then, he decided it best for his sanity to keep his distance.**

**Hinata frowned a bit from Sasuke's statement. She didn't think her stuttering voice was that bad. Maybe … maybe it would be best for everyone if she tried to stop the old habit. She didn't know how much effort it would take, but now she was determined to change this about herself. As a guy, she figured shyness didn't go over well with the other people. **

"**I-I will g-give it a t-try," she said, trying not to stumble with her words. It had taken a great amount of effort, but she had managed to minimize some of the stuttering. Sasuke looked at her and raised one of his eyebrows. "Hn," he said, acting as if he didn't care, but a part of him wanted to be friends with the Hyuuga. He didn't know where this sudden urge was coming from because he preferred to be a loner. He never sought the company of others. He had promised himself a long time ago that he didn't need anyone -- only himself. Why was he suddenly on the verge of breaking that pact? Especially for this pale-eyed boy.**

**Hinata noticed he was daydreaming so she took this chance to exit the room and take a look around the rest of the school. Compared to the rooms,, the remainder of the building was much more extravagant. The halls were wide and lit up with stained glass chandeliers that hung overhead. The windows themselves were also made of stained glass. When it was day time, the corridors would illuminate with different varieties of captivating hues.**

**Out of nowhere, someone latched on to her arm, causing her to stumble backwards. Hinata looked over at the person next to her and saw bright cerulean eyes staring back at her. "Hello!" said the blonde boy with a toothy grin. "What's your name? I haven't talked to you yet!" Forgetting her resolution, she said, "H-h-h-hinata." She figured the stuttering was caused by the boy scaring the living daylights out of her. **

"**I'm Naruto," he said pointing towards himself with his thumb. Suddenly, a sympathetic look crossed his face. Hinata looked at him curiously and he said, "You have to share a room with Sasuke. He's such a jerk. I really feel for you." She shook her head and let the corner of her lips pull up to form a small smile. "He's not that bad," she said. "He's been very nice to me." Naruto looked at her like she was something foreign. "Has he brainwashed you too!?!?!?" he asked as his hand flew up to clutch his hair, as if he would pull it out any second. "Your just too kind to notice the evilness that lurks inside!!"**

**Unknown to both of them, Sasuke was standing write around the corner. He had overheard the conversation between the two. He was shocked to hear Hinata stand up for him. The fact that she didn't stutter made it that much better.**

**For some reason, he couldn't help but feel a small sense of happiness as his lips curled into their own smile.**


End file.
